Manga Review: Ion

“Ion” is a 6 chapter (1 volume) manga by Arina Tanemura. She wrote this manga early in her career and it shows. The drawing style is hers but primitive and the characters and story are nowhere near as rich as “Fullmoon o Sagashite”, “Kamikaze Kaito Jeanne”, or “Shinshi Doumei Cross” (“The Gentleman’s Alliance” in the US). As with her other stories, the main character, Ion, draws her strength by defying sadness that is rooted in the pain of missing parents. However, doesn’t really deal with Ion’s pain or her weakness. As for the male rivals, neither of them come close Tanemura’s other male leads. Get this manga if you must complete your collection, otherwise read it at the library (I’m sure many of you will just read it at your local bookstore.) I’m sorta peeved that this manga cost $9 — not much bang for the buck. I actually had a hard time reading the whole thing because it was it was so formulaic and, in general, overly cheerful. 2.5/5 for a mediocre manga series. Thank goodness they let her continue to publish after this one.

Tanemura’s other series, “Fullmoon o Sagashite”, “Kamikaze Kaito Jeanne”, or “Shinshi Doumei Cross” (currently running in Ribon magazine) are EXCELLENT. So please support these manga, so we can see more from this wonderful artist.